Dot-eared Coquette
Lophornis gouldii
Tiny charismatic hummingbird. Note the male’s white cheeks tufts with green spots. Females have a rusty throat bordered below by a white-spotted green band. Probably rare but certainly difficult to find at the edge of humid forests and more wooded savannas. Males of other coquettes within its range have different cheek tuft patterns, while females don't have the rusty throat.
Identification
The dot-eared coquette is 6.8 to 7.6 cm (2.7 to 3.0 in) long and weighs 2.4 to 2.8 g (0.085 to 0.099 oz). Both sexes have a short, straight, black-tipped red bill. The adult male's forehead is glittering golden green. Long dark rufous feathers on its crown form a crest. Its upperparts are bronzy green with a white band across the rump. Its throat is glittering emerald green. Long white feathers with shiny green dots make tufts that fan out and back on the cheeks. Its underparts are grayish green. Its central tail feathers are bronzy green and the rest rufous with bronzy green tips and edges. The adult female does not have the male's crest or cheek tufts. Its upperparts are colored like the male's but with a bronzy iridescence. Its throat is rufous with a grayish green lower border. Its tail is bronze with rufous tips. Juveniles are similar to the adult female.
Taxonomy
The dot-eared coquette is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Lophornis gouldii
- Authority
- (Lesson, RP, 1832)
- Order
- Apodiformes
- Family
- Trochilidae
- Genus
- Lophornis
Range and habitat
The dot-eared coquette is found primarily in Brazil, from the mouth of the Amazon River in Pará south and west to Mato Grosso and Goiás. It has been recorded as a vagrant in Bolivia's Santa Cruz department. It inhabits semi-open to open landscapes such as forest edges, savanna, and cerrado from sea level up to about 800 m (2,600 ft) of elevation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The dot-eared coquette is believed to be sedentary.<p>The dot-eared coquette is a "trap-line" feeder, visiting a circuit of flowering plants for nectar. Details of its diet are not known.<p>The dot-eared coquette's breeding season spans from December to April. Its nest has not been described. The female incubates the clutch of two eggs for about 14 days; fledging is about 22 days after hatch.<p>The dot-eared coquette is mostly silent. It gives "a short 'tsip'" when feeding. Its wings make "a low bee-like humming" when hovering.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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